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Saturday, February 9, 2013

Not So Lousy Bird Walk

I always try to teach the importance of nature to my kids but it’s tough at times competing with today’s distractions. I’m not sure who, or how it came about, but my kids recently asked me to take them birdwatching. With all the distractions of computers and video games they’re normally into, I jump at the opportunity to take them to the woods when given the chance.

I believe it was my son Jonathan who asked first, and my daughter Morgan followed his lead like younger siblings often do. My only concern, as with most kids, was getting them up at 6 a.m. on a Saturday and out of the house by 7. Once that was accomplished, the rest of the morning seemed like a piece of cake.

It just so happened that the Great Dismal Swamp NWR was having one of their so called “Lousy Bird Walks” on Saturday. It’s not really “lousy,” but on a winter walk sightings can be a bit unpredictable. The turnout was small, consisting of me, my two kids and two refuge guides. It seemed as if we had the whole woods to ourselves.

The morning started off great, especially after spotting one of my favorite birds – the red-headed woodpecker. Don, the refuge’s wildlife biologist, said that the red-headed woodpeckers have really made a comeback in the swamp over the last couple years and being seen in areas of the swamp that they weren’t typically established before.

Red-headed woodpeckers don’t act quite like most other woodpeckers – they’re adept at catching insects in the air, and they eat lots of acorns and beech nuts, often hiding away extra food in tree crevices for later. Unfortunately they’re numbers have been in declined over the past half-century because of habitat loss and changes to its food supply. (Ref: Cornell – All About Birds, Red-headed Woodpecker).

One woodpecker that’s not in decline is the red-bellied woodpecker. We saw several of these during our morning walk. Morgan was excited when she spotted one all by herself.

At times throughout our 2-hour hike things got a little slow, but the kids managed to keep themselves entertained.

Other cool birds we spotted were yellow-crowned kinglets, fox sparrow, red-breasted nuthatch, winter wren, hermit thrush and a few other more common birds. The morning ended just as it began, with another sighting of a red-headed woodpecker.

Unfortunately, most young children today do not have as many direct experiences with nature. If you get an opportunity, experience and explore the great outdoors with your child — you’ll be glad you did!

My kids are still enjoying nature, now they text me photos of unusual birds or squirrels or flowers or whatever. They appreciate nature and I think yours will continue to be interested as they grow up (though I can't believe how much they have grown!!!) Check out my latest post on a very strange bird.

My daughter is in love with nature as well. Recently she inherited a pair of binoculars and has been bird watching for weeks (our house backs up to the forest.) It's encouraging to see fellow parents engaging nature.

BPW

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About Me

I'm a Virginia Master Naturalist and author of this blog; where I enjoy writing about birds, gardening and the natural world. I'm also a contributing blogger for Virginia Gardener Magazine @ http://vagardener.com/birdsnsuch